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Chandler gave an “aw, shuck” chuckle. Even as a grown adult man, his father’s approval still meant something. Especially since running the agency still felt a little like he was playing dress up as his dad. It didn’t feel like his yet. And in this particular situation, he wasn’t about to take all of the credit. “It wasn’t all me here. Eden was the one who came up with the theory that her attacker might be someone connected to Ross through the prison. Either a former cellmate or a visitor.”
“Well, then. Sounds like you two make a great team.” While Chandler was still figuring out what to do with that, his dad told him to hang on while he quickly looked up Peter’s contact info. “Okay, here you go.”
Chandler added the number to his contacts list, then thanked his dad. “I’m going to call him now and see if I can get any additional leads.”
“Stay safe, son, and be careful out there,” his dad said. “And good luck to you and Eden.”
“Thanks.” He ended the call and dialed Peter’s number, not allowing himself any time to think about Eden or the kiss or the odd fizz of anticipation in his chest. His father had given him Peter’s work number, so Chandler’s call was first answered by a receptionist, then passed on to Peter’s extension. He waited a moment before the man picked up.
“Peter Scorlini,” the man said in a flat tone.
“Hey, Mr. Scorlini,” Chandler said, all business now. “It’s Chandler Ruthven. You used to work for my father, Henry, at his security agency, right?”
It was like a switch had been flipped and suddenly the man’s voice grew animated and friendly. “Chandler? Yes! God, I remember you coming into the office with your dad after school and on the weekends. Such a nice kid you were. Smart and helpful. But goodness, that would have been fifteen years ago—you must be a grown man now. How are you?”
They chatted for a bit, Chandler filling him in on his life post-high school and his time in the SEALs, while also answering Peter’s questions about how his parents were doing. Peter hadn’t heard about Henry’s heart attack and was touchingly concerned about his old friend’s current condition. Chandler had a feeling his dad would be getting a call from Peter soon and it might lead the two men to reconnect.
When Chandler was done with his updates, Peter shared his own, talking about what his wife and kids were up to these days and telling Chandler about working his way up through the prison system from guard to his current position of Unit Manager at Augusta Correctional Facility outside Craigsville, where Ross was being held until his trial. That was the opening that Chandler had been waiting for.
“So, the reason I’m calling today, Mr. Scorlini,” Chandler started.
“Please, call me Peter.”
“Okay, Peter. I’m calling to get some information on one of your inmates, by the name of Jeff Ross.” He explained about the case he was working on and how he had reason to believe someone with a close connection to Ross was behind some recent attacks against his client. “What I need is to know if anyone has been visiting Mr. Ross regularly since February of this year and if so, who.”
“I should be able to get that for you, Chandler,” Peter said. “Might take me a few hours, though. The visitor logs are scanned electronically now, but I’d still have to search them for the names.”
“No problem,” Chandler said, smiling for the first time all day. “Thanks so much for your help on this.”
Chandler ended the call glad they might finally be getting somewhere now on the case.
